34 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 



I have been surprised to find some writers expressing 

 a doubt as to the propriety of applying the name of 

 harrier to birds of this genus. I cannot but think they 

 well deserve the appellation ; none others of the family 

 obtain their food in the same manner, and few who 

 have carefully witnessed their mode of hunting will 

 doubt the correctness of Mr. Yarrell's suggestion that 

 " the origin of the name has probably been derived from 

 their beating the ground somewhat in the manner of a 

 dog hunting for game/' They do not spy out their 

 prey from a distance, or pursue and strike it in the air, 

 as is the habit of the falcons, but with a low, buoyant, 

 but somewhat stealthy flight, they steadily hunt and 

 quarter the ground, as a well-trained pointer might do, 

 until they catch sight of some unfortunate bird or rabbit, 

 when, if practicable, they pounce upon it at once, or, if 

 it take the alarm, they chase it until it is secured. The 

 meaning attached to the word "harry" in the dic- 

 tionaries viz., "to tease, to hare, to make harassing 

 incursions," is so descriptive of their habits that there 

 can be little doubt of the derivation of the name. 



Of the nocturnal birds of prey I am fain to be content 

 with a record of four species viz., the white, the tawny, 

 and the long and short-eared owls. These are tolerably 

 abundant, especially the two former, but I have never 

 seen any of the smaller species, nor am I aware of their 

 occurrence in the district. 



An owl is not by any means a popular bird. His 

 grotesque appearance, his wild and unearthly cry, ringing 

 through the air when honest people should be in bed, 

 and his silent, spirit-like flight in the darkness, all com- 

 bine to invest him with a certain amount of mystery, 

 which in the popular mind does not tend to make him 



